NCSE Evolution Education Update for 2011/11/18

Dear Friends of NCSE,
A new way to support NCSE. A preview of Shawn Lawrence Otto's Fool Me
Twice. And the latest batch of videos on NCSE's YouTube channel.

A NEW WAY TO SUPPORT NCSE
There's a new way to help NCSE to defend the integrity of science
education in the public schools. Organizations -- including
professional societies of scientists and educators, business
associations, charitable foundations, and law firms -- are now
eligible to become Supporting Organizations of NCSE. "Joining NCSE is
a potent way to support evolution education and defend the integrity
of science," explained NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott in a
November 16, 2011, press release announcing the debut of NCSE's
Supporting Organizations program. "Annual contributions from
Supporting Organizations provide a much-needed stable income stream to
support NCSE's important work," she added.
Response was enthusiastic, with the A. Robert Kaufman Foundation, the
American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American
Association of Physical Anthropologists, the American Institute of
Biological Sciences, the Paleontological Society, and the Society for
the Study of Evolution all enrolling as Supporting Organizations. Alan
I. Leshner, the CEO of AAAS and executive publisher of its journal
Science, commented, "Every child needs a clear understanding of core
scientific principles in order to thrive in the 21st century. AAAS is
pleased to join with the NCSE in promoting the integrity of science
and science education." Details of the Supporting Organization program
are available on NCSE's website.
For the press release, visit:
http://ncse.com/evolution/standing-up-evolution
For details of the Supporting Organization program, visit:
http://ncse.com/supporting_organizations
A PREVIEW OF FOOL ME TWICE
NCSE is pleased to offer a free preview of Shawn Lawrence Otto's Fool
Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America (Rodale, 2011).
The preview consists of part of chapter 9, "Teaching Evolution: The
Values Battle," in which Otto starts to lay the foundation for his
discussion of the controversies over the place of evolution in the
public schools. "Teaching creationism in school science classes," he
writes elsewhere in the chapter, "is teaching a habit of mind that is
toxic ... That is not going to take America where we need to go."
The reviewer for Science wrote, "what distinguishes the book is his
determination to simultaneously educate and move to action both lay
readers and scientists," concluding, "The solutions Otto suggests
require a great deal of dedication and optimism. Nonetheless, the
problems he identifies are quite real. Fool Me Twice offers a
compelling consideration of the United States' political estrangement
from science. One would very much like to attend to Otto's equally
compelling hopes." Otto is the cofounder and CEO of Science Debate
2008, the largest political initiative in the history of science.
For the preview (PDF), visit:
http://ncse.com/book-excerpt
For information on the book from its publisher, visit:
http://www.rodaleinc.com/products/books/fool-me-twice-fighting-assault-science-america
THE LATEST ON NCSE'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL
NCSE is pleased to announce the addition of a further batch of videos
featuring Eugenie C. Scott to NCSE's YouTube channel. The highlights
are "Evolution and global warming denialism: How the public is
misled," a talk for the Glasgow Skeptics in 2011, and "Crusader
against creationism," in which Scott was interviewed by the
editor-in-chief of the Scientific American Book Club in 2011. And from
the archives come "What Americans think of evolution," delivered at
the University of Montana in 2000; a talk for a convocation at
Southern Utah University in 1995; and "Just when you thought it was
safe to teach evolution," delivered at the University of Louisville in
1991. Plus there's a clip featuring Scott from Randall Balmer's 1995
documentary In the Beginning: The Creationist Controversy. Tune in and
enjoy!
For NCSE's YouTube channel, visit:
http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd
Thanks for reading. And don't forget to visit NCSE's website --
http://ncse.com -- where you can always find the latest news on
evolution education and threats to it.
--
Sincerely,
Glenn Branch
Deputy Director
National Center for Science Education, Inc.
420 40th Street, Suite 2
Oakland, CA 94609-2509
510-601-7203 x305
fax: 510-601-7204
800-290-6006
branch@ncse.comhttp://ncse.com
Read Reports of the NCSE on-line:
http://reports.ncse.com
Subscribe to NCSE's free weekly e-newsletter:
http://groups.google.com/group/ncse-news
NCSE is on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter:
http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncsehttp://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEdhttp://twitter.com/ncse
NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today!
http://ncse.com/join

» 1462 reads

RSS Syndication

Antievolutionists Say the Darndest Things

Antievolutionists often express outrage over alleged incivility from those who oppose their efforts to evade the establishment clause of the First Amendment. But they have no difficulty in dishing out the abuse themselves. Here is a sample from the Invidious Comparisons thread that documents egregious behavior on the part of the religious antievolution advocates.

Dembski, as the director of the center, also commented on the report in a one-paragraph e-mail message following its release. "The report marks the triumph of intelligent design as a legitimate form of academic inquiry. This is a great day for academic freedom," Dembski began. He concluded by observing that "Dogmatic opponents of design who demanded the Center be shut down have met their Waterloo. Baylor University is to be commended for remaining strong in the face of intolerant assaults on freedom of thought and expression."